Field guide
Three free Google tools. One job: make the phone ring.
Most contractors have at least one of these set up. Very few ever look at them.
All three are free, and together they answer the only question that matters: why is the phone ringing, or why isn't it? This is the short version, written for someone who would rather be working. Seven pages, about a six minute read, no jargon and no forty-tab dashboards.
Rather listen?
The whole guide, read aloud. 7 minutes 40 seconds. Good for a drive between jobs, and no email needed.
What's in it
- 01
The sign on the truck
Google Business Profile
What people see first. Your name, stars, photos and a call button, sitting on the map above the normal results. Plenty of people call straight from there and never reach your site at all.
- 02
The inspector's report
Google Search Console
Google telling you plainly what it sees on your site, what is broken, and the exact words people typed before you showed up. That last part is a content plan handed to you.
- 03
The camera in the shop
Google Analytics
Who came in, where they came from, which pages they read, and whether they ever made it to the phone. Traffic is a vanity number. Calls pay the bills.
When the phone goes quiet, look here first
Each tool watches a different part of the same trip, from the search to the call. The guide has this as a page you can keep:
| What you notice | Check | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer people seeing your Profile | Business Profile | A visibility problem. Stale profile, slipping on reviews, or a competitor got busy. |
| You still show up, but fewer clicks | Search Console | People see you and pick someone else. Titles, stars, or a better offer next door. |
| Pages dropped out of Google | Search Console | Something broke on the site. Fix it before it costs a season. |
| Visits are fine, calls are down | Analytics | The site isn't closing. Slow pages, a buried phone number, or a broken form. |
The last page is a ten-minute monthly check you can run with a coffee, plus the thing most contractors get wrong: these accounts should be in your name. Give your web person access. Don't let them own it.